I wrote these worship pieces for the Second Sunday of Lent (Year A). They draw on Genesis 12:1-4 and John 3:1-17. Prayer of Confession Gracious God, You call us to a new land, a new birth. Yet our feet and our spirits hesitate. Forgive our laziness. Forgive our fear. Forgive our selfishness. Forgive our comfort.…
Here is the second post in my “Ask the Pastor” series. As a pastor of a congregation that has a public statement of full inclusion for gays and lesbians, and as a pastor who has officiated at a same-sex wedding, I have been asked (more than once) how I reconcile my views on homosexuality with…
My hands are dirty from smearing ashes on people’s foreheads. My eyes sting from wiping them with ashen fingers. My nose tickles from the ash I’ve breathed in. From dust you have come. To dust you shall return. In the meantime there is grace. Grace that looks a lot like a smudged cross. Like sooty…
Today’s worship piece is small. As you may have seen, I’ve been putting a lot of my worship planning energies into tonight’s Ash Wednesday service. Today’s piece is an offertory prayer that we will likely use throughout Lent. ~Blessings Gracious God, through our offerings of worship, of time, of money, we seek to make space…
I love these lines from a Wendell Berry poem: Best of any song is bird song in the quiet, but first you must have the quiet This year I’m thinking of Lent as an opportunity to experience the quiet before the glorious bird song of Easter. Last year, I took on a major Lenten discipline—I…
I know it’s not Wednesday, but I figured that would be a little late to post this particular “Worship Piece.” For the first time this year our church will have two services on Ash Wednesday. We will have the contemplative service at 7:30 (posted here), and a child-friendly service at 6:30. I wanted to post…
I know some of you are interested in the status of my ministerial credentials. They have been under review by my conference’s Leadership Commission because I officiated a wedding for two women. (You can read some of the background here and here.) I received a phone call this afternoon from the Commission chair, and he…
**You can find a more recent Ash Wednesday service here. Next Wednesday, March 9, is Ash Wednesday. Here is the service I have put together for my congregation. As always, feel free to use any of this material and adapt it for your own context. I always appreciate a note from those who find my…
Sunday was my parents’ 40th anniversary. We had a small family party for them on Saturday, and my brother and I both wrote on our cards: “Thank you for setting such a good example of marriage for me.” I know it sounds a little cheesy, but we both mean it deeply. I consider myself to…
Last week I had two conversations that included the phrase, “I’ve just got to ask you about . . . “. I was honestly tickled to know that my pastoral perspective is such a hot commodity. So I’ve decided to include some “Ask the Pastor” posts on this blog. Every once in awhile I will…
Spacious Faith 